Page 428 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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ACCEPTANCE WAS THE ANSWER 417
it may seem, and even though I didn’t give my per-
mission—really, really am an alcoholic of sorts. And
it’s all right with me. Now, what am I going to do
about it?” When I stopped living in the problem and
began living in the answer, the problem went away.
From that moment on, I have not had a single com-
pulsion to drink.
And acceptance is the answer to all my problems
today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some
person, place, thing, or situation—some fact of my life
—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until
I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being
exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world
by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I
could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely
on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concen-
trate not so much on what needs to be changed in the
world as on what needs to be changed in me and in
my attitudes.
Shakespeare said, “All the world’s a stage, and all
the men and women merely players.” He forgot to
mention that I was the chief critic. I was always able
to see the flaw in every person, every situation. And I
was always glad to point it out, because I knew you
wanted perfection, just as I did. A.A. and acceptance
have taught me that there is a bit of good in the worst
of us and a bit of bad in the best of us; that we are all
children of God and we each have a right to be here.
When I complain about me or about you, I am com-
plaining about God’s handiwork. I am saying that I
know better than God.
For years I was sure the worst thing that could